Effective Teaching Resources and Strategies

Christine JohnsonThere are many resources that you as a teacher can use when searching for different ways to incorporate and include students with expressive language disorder into your classroom in a meaningful way. Here we will list and explain a few, but also provide more resources for you to explore on your own.Academic:1. ModellingWhen asked a question, a student with expressive language disorder may provide you with an incomplete sentence. If you were to ask what they saw at the zoo, the student may respond with "tiger." The best thing to do is to model back a full and correct sentence, such as "I saw a tiger." You do not have to have the students repeat the sentence; just hearing the words in the correct order will help.

2. ChoicesWhen you are asking students with expressive language disorder questions, instead of asking them to form their own sentences, give them choices. Following our zoo example, instead of asking "what did you see at the zoo?" you might ask the student "did you see the lions or the tigers when you were at the zoo?" This takes the stress off of the student to make up their own sentence from scratch. 3. VisualsPlace visuals around your classroom to help remind students of words that they could use. Students with expressive language disorder have difficulties remembering words, so seeing them posted may help. 4. Pre-planningSince students with expressive language disorder have difficulties communicating ideas, pre-planning is a good start. First talking with the student about what they want to write about, then creating an outline with them will help guide their writing. If they need help, then they have a guide to look at. 5. Slow downThis is for you and the student. When you are speaking, slow down and model good speech for the student. When the student is speaking, remind them to slow down and make sure that their sentences are complete. This should increase the students self monitoring skills.6. TimeLet the student know if you are planning on calling on them. This will give them time to think of a response. When the student is talking, allow them the time that they need. 7. AccommodationsStudents with expressive language disorder may require different accommodations. If your student is more comfortable with writing their assignments, or with verbalizing the answers, you should allow them to do this. As a teacher you may also find different accommodations that work, like word prediction software, for your students. SocialUnfortunately students with expressive language disorder may only experience social problems because of they cannot effectively communicate their ideas and feelings. Here are some strategies you can use as a teacher to help students with expressive language disorder.1. ConversationsStudents with expressive language disorder may need to be reminded to participate appropriately in conversations. Things like greeting people, answering and asking questions, starting or maintaining a conversation are all things that you may work on with your student. 2. SkillsThere are certain communication skills that we may take for granted that a student with expressive language disorder may struggle with. Teaching these students to do things like read body language is important. Role playing can be used, or story telling. The above strategies were found in two main resources.Learn AlbertaEucational Technology textbook, 3rd edition, by Santrock, John; Woloshyn, Vera; Gallagher, Tiffany; Di Petta, and Tony; Marini, Zopito. For more helpful strategies that can be used across a wide variety of disorders, in Chapter 6 of Alberta Education you can find accommodation strategies and samples. Chapter 9 may also be useful as it contains resources for integrating technology into the classroom for students. As mentioned before, use of technology such as a word predictor may be beneficial for students with expressive language disorder.